Heat-conserving apparatus



. R. N. EHRHART.

HEAT CONSERVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1911.

1,4L8%,281L o Patenfed Oct 17, 19221.

INVENTOR.

HIS ATTORNEY m FAC-T Patented @et. ll 7, lli2?..

STATES (llFlFltC iil.

RAYMOND N. EHRH'ART, OF EDGEWOOD PARK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WEST-- INGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION 033 PENN- SYLVANIA.

Application filed May 4,

Y 0 all 2 071 017) it may 0041 (16TH Be it known that I, RAYMOND N. EI-IRHART, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Edgewood Park, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have made a new and useful invention in Heat-Conserving Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to heat conserving apparatus and has for an object to pro duce an apparatus for conserving the heat contained in the gases, vapors and liquids withdrawn from a condenser.

A further object is to produce an apparatus for insuring the automatic and contiuuous condensation and cooling of fluids discharged by a pump or other device employed in withdrawing air from a condenser, and in which water withdrawn from the condenser is employed as cooling water.

A further object is to produce an apparatus for controlling the delivery of an auxiliary supply of water to a condenser, to be employed in condensing and cooling the fluids discharged by a steam actuated device when the supply of condensate is insufficient for this purpose.

A further object is to produce an apparatus which is provided with a discharge valve controlled by a device which is responsive to variations in temperature of a body of water.

These and other objects are attained by means of the apparatus herein described and illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forl'i'ling a part hereof, wherein- Fig. l is a vertical section through the improved apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the apparatus applied to a condenser.

In power plant installations it is common to employ the condensate from the condenser for condensing the steam employed in withdrawing air from the condenser. The excess heat in the fluids discharged by the withdrawing device, for example an ejector, is therefore given up to the condensate which is next used as feed water, so as to conserve a maximum amount of the heat originally contained in the fluids when they entered the prime movers. Obviously when the prime movers are at rest there will be no condensate to be used as cooling water for the steam exhausted by the air withdrawing device, consequently the auxiliary sup- HEAT-CONSERVING APPARATUS.

1917. Serial No. 166,466.

ply of water must be furnished in order to prevent the engine room from being filled with steam. This condition frequently occurs during the manoeuvring of a ship when the vacuum must be maintained over the short periods during which the prime movers are shut down and, furthermore, the maintenance of a high vacuum, and hence the continued operation of the air withdrawing device, should be automatic.

My invention comprises an automatic apparatus. which may advantageously be employed for supplying an auxiliary supply of water to be employed as cooling and condensing water for an air Withdrawing device, hereinafter called an ejector, when the supply of condensate from the condenser becomes insufiicient for this purpose. This apparatus is entirely automatic and is responsive to variations in temperature of the water into which the ejector discharges, so as to admit an auxiliary supply of water when the supply of condensate fails.

In the drawings I have shown my invention as applied to a hot well or water storage tank 5. Inside the hot well 5, I have illustrated an auxiliary chamber 6, which, as shown, is adapted to receive the fluid discharged by the ejector through a port 7 which communicates with the ejector through a conduit 7, and to also receive, by means of a conduit 8, the condensate withdrawn from the condenser 8'. The fluids discharged from the ejector 6 enter the auxiliary chamber through the port 7 below the surface of the water which fills this chamber, so that the steam from the ejector is immediately condensed and the air discharged by the ejector allowed to rise to the surface of the water and pass off to the atmosphere. In order to allow the escape of the air I have shown the hot well 5 and the chamber 6 as open to the atmosphere. The auxiliary chamber 6 is adapted to overflow directly into the hot well, where the heated condensate is stored prior to being employed again as boiler feed water.

I Near the bottom of the hot well 5, I have shown a discharge valve 9, which controls the delivery of water from the hot well to the outlet 10. The outlet 10 is preferably connected to the upper part of the condenser 8, although if desired it may be connected directly to the auxiliary chamber 6. In case the supply of condensate discharged from the conduit 8 is not su'liicient to properly condense and cool the fluids discharged by the ejector through the port 7 into the auxiliary chamber 6, water from the hot well is discharged through the valve 9 and the pipe 10 either directly to the auxiliary chamber 6 or to the condenser, wherein it will be cooled by coming in contact with the cooling surface, so that a supply of water is always available to condense and cool the fluids discharged by the ejector.

As illustrated, the automatic device for controlling the valve 9 comprises a float chamber 11 located above the auxiliary chamber 6 and comi-n-unicating with the water in that chamber by means ot a conduit l2, and with the upper part of a condenser, or to any other point oi low pressure, by means of a conduit 13. Inside the float chamber 11, I have shown a float 14, which is connected by a long stem 15 directly to the discharge valve 9 in such a manner that when the float is in its highest position the discharge valve 9 is held closed, and when the float is in its lowest position the discharge valve 9 is'open.

The operation of the device illustrated is as follows: Under normal operating conditions srnlicient condensate is discharged from the conduit 8 to properlycool and condense the fluids discharged by the ejector and to therefore maintain the body of fluid in the auxiliary chamber 6 at a temperature sufficiently low so as to allow the partial vacuum in the fluid chamber 11 to maintain the fluid chamber full of water and consequently to hold the discharge valve 9 shut. As is well known to those skilled in the art, water at a temperature of approximately 212 F. cannot be lifted by suction. If the supply of condensate discharged by the conduit 8 is shut off the body of water in the auxiliary chamber 6 will quickly be heated to the boiling point by Y the steam and other fluids discharged by the ejector through the port 7 and consequently the vaporization of the hot water in the conduit 12 will destroy the lifting effect of the partial vacuum in the float chamber 11 .and' will cause part of the water in the float chamber to be vaporized and the rest to drain back into the auxiliary chamber 6. This will allow the float let to fall to its lowest position, and to therefore open the discharge valve 9 so as to supply water either directly to the auxiliary chamber 6 or tothe condenser. In the latter case it will be cooled by falling over the tubes of the condenser, and then it will be employed in the same manner as condensate in cooling and condensing the fluids discharged by the condenser.

It will be understood that in a condenser installation the water in the auxiliary chamber 6 is normally relatively hot and that it can therefore be raised by suction only a relatively short distance. For example if the water in the auxiliary chamber 6 is 210 F. it can theoretically be raised by suction only one foot. lVi-th a one foot suction head the pressure on the surface of the water is reduced so that boiling occurs and the vacuum, and hence the suction effeet, is destroyed or greatly reduced. For this reason the apparatus may be constructed so thatno water will normally return through the pipe 13 to the condenser even though the chamber 11 is not elevated to any great extent. However, if the temperature drops so low that water is sucked up through the float chamber and the pipe 13' to the condenser 8 it will not materially effect the operation of the apparatus because of the small size of the pipe the temperature rises beyond a certainpoint the head maintained by the vacuum in the chamber 11 is so low that the float is'no longer sustained, the valve 9' is opened, and water is delivered to the condenser. The elevation of the float chamber 11 above the tank 6 may be varied if desired in accordance with the Operating conditions tobe encountered in different installations.

This device illustrated is simple and entirely automatic, consequently it is perfectly adapted to automatically take care of the fluids discharged by an ejector or other steam actuated device under all operating conditions, such as are encountered in the manoeuvring ofships.

Although I have shown the auxiliary chamber 6 as being located inside'oi the hot well or storage chamber 5, it is evident that it may be located in some other place, and likewise that the float chamber 11 may be located in some other position, provided of course, that it is at a higher level than. the top of the water in the auxiliary chamber 6.

While I have described and illustrated-but one embod'imentof my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, additions and omissions may be made in the apparatus described and illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention,

as set forth by the appended claims:

What I claim is:

1. In a heating apparatus, a liquid storing chamber, an auxiliary chambercommunicating therewith, means for discharging fluid from the liquid storing chamber, a third chamber communicating with the auxiliary chamber, means for maintaining in the third chamber a low absolute pressure, and means responsive to a decrease in suction head of the liquid within the third chamber in response to a variation in the temperature of the liquid in the auxiliary chamber for controlling the liquid discharging means.

2; In a heating apparatus, a liquid storhen ing chamber, an auxiliary chamber having communication therewith and with the at mosphere, means for discharging liquid from the liquid storing chamber, a third chamber communicating with the auxiliary chamber and with a region of low absolute pressure, and means responsive to a decrease in suction head of the liquid within the third chamber in response to a variation in the temperature of the liquid in the auxiliary chamber for controlling the liquid discharging means.

3. A heat conserving apparatus, comprising a liquid storing chamber, an auxiliary chamber having communication with the atmosphere and the liquid storing chamber, means for discharging liquid from the liquid storing chamber, a float chamber having communication with the auxiliary chamber and a region of reduced pressure, and a float in said float chamber for controlling the liqu id discharging means.

a. In combination with a hot well, an auxilary chamber having communication therewith lt'or receiving condensate air and steam and having communication with the atmosphere, a discharge valve for discharging water from the hot well, and means responsive to variations in the temperature of the liquid in the auxiliary chamber for controlling said discharge valve.

5. A valve controlling device, comprising a liquid receiving chamber, a float chamber located above the receiving chamber and having communication therewith and with a region of pressure lower than that of the atmosphere, and a valve controlling float located within the float chamber.

6. In combination in a valve controlling apparatus, a chamber, a liquid in the chamber, means for maintaining the liquid in the chamber at diflerent levels under different temperatures of the liquid, and a valve responsive to the level of the liquid within the chamber.

'7. Heat conserving apparatus comprising in combination a condenser, a condensate res-. ervoir, means for supplying water from the reservoir to the condenser, a valve controlling said means, means associated with the reservoir for receiving the fluids discharged from the condenser pumps and for eifecting a condensation of the condensable portion thereof through the agency of the liquid portion, a chamber communicating with the said receiving and condensing means and receiving liquid therefrom, means for maintaining the liquid in the chamber at diflerent levels under difl'erent temperatures of the liquid, and means responsive to variations of the level of the liquid in the chamber for controlling said valve.

8. In combination with a condenser, an auxiliary therefor operated-by condensable motive fluid, means for condensing the motive fluid exhausted by the auxiliary and for receiving condensate from the condenser as condensing fluid, liquid container means communicating with the aforesaid means and subjected to the vacuum within the condenser, and means responsive to variations in the suction head in the last mentioned means for controlling the delivery of cooled fluid to the condenser.

9. In combination with a condenser, an ejector ior evacuating the condenser, means employing condensate from the condenser for condensing motive fluid employed in the ejector, and means responsive to an increase in temperature of the liquid in the condensing means for controlling the delivery of fluid to the condenser to be employed in condensing the condensable fluids discharged by the ejector.

10. In a valve controlling apparatus, a valve, means communicating with a source of heated liquid and with a region of low pressure and adapted to contain a column of the liquid and means responsive to the height of the column of heated liquid suspended by suction for controlling said valve.

11. In combination with a condenser, a hot well, a receptacle receiving fluids discharged from the condenser, a chamber communicating with the receptacle, a restricted passage for maintaining communication between the chamber and the condenser, and means responsive to variations in the suction head in the chamber "for controlling the delivery of fluid. from the hot well to the condenser.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 3rd day of May, 191.7.

RAYMOND N. EHRHART.

Witnesses C. W. MoGrHEE, C. LOEWENTHAL. 

